The Final Bloodstained Night
by XxFallingFeathersxX
Summary: "I love you, Crow-bird. I love you so much." / He remembered Kiryu, soaked in blood that wasn't his. / He heard Kiryu's raised voice, and the bang of a gun. / No little brother to scare. So he let it all out. / Alternate Universe-ish version of the last night of Team Satisfaction / The Enforcers. Slight Kiryu x Crow Reverseshipping, Slight Jack x Yusei Kingcrabshipping. R&R plz!
1. Chapter 1

**So. I have come up with another few Mortal Instruments ideas (including a cute songfic fluff~!), but they're all on my laptop, and I'm using the big desktop with the internet. (Does anyone except me still use the big desktops with the huge screens and the fat mods?)**

**This just kind of happened.**

* * *

Run, he'd said. Just run and I'll be there.

His ankle had just healed from being broken. Two weeks after some highly improvised 'therapy' and stretching and cursing, he thought he wouldn't have to worry about fleeing at top speed.

His ankle gave out and he fell hard onto the wet pavement. He cried out as the skin on his elbows, hands, and left forearm tore in scrapes and slashes. But he struggled to his feet and kept running.

Crow was scared, cold, wet, panicky, and wanted desperately to cry. His lungs burned. His muscles screamed. His ankle throbbed with every step. He fell again, this time into a puddle. He stay there, choking for air, on all fours, staring into the water. Shielded by his body, it became undisturbed by raindrops. His marker glared back at him.

The marker that had probably led the bastards straight to them.

With a desperate cry, Crow struggled upright and splashed away.

**.x.**

Jack had never cried. Never lost control of his emotions. Never panicked. Never been scared.

Okay, there was that _once_ when Crow fell from the roof and shattered his collarbone. But Jack had only panicked a little.

Maybe a little more than a little.

He couldn't hear anything but the wail of sirens fading in his ears and the blood rushing in his head. He could feel his heart slamming like a song with too much bass. His arm was still bleeding from where he had fallen on a jagged piece of trash. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he rounded a corner and although he wanted to slow down—badly, he wanted to slow down—he didn't _dare._

He stumbled. Fell. Swore. Got up. Kept running.

_"Run. Go! I'll meet you at the hideout!"_

_"But Kiryu—"_

_"Jack, _run!_"_

Kiryu's last yelled command, screamed over a peal of bass thunder, echoed like the sirens in Jack's ears.

He had never cried, panicked, been scared, screamed, wailed, or done any of those things.

He was panicky.

He was drop-dead terrified.

He wanted to cry so badly his chest throbbed.

He wanted to scream for Kiryu, for Crow and Yusei.

But he kept running. And kept silent.

**.x.**

Yusei was the first to arrive.

He was like Jack. He always kept his emotions in careful check, more for Crow's sake than anyone else's. The youngest, the most naïve, the one who looked up to his three brothers for everything. Seeing Yusei cry would scare him more than any gunshot, siren, Security, anything.

But he wasn't here.

Yusei slid down the wall, put his head between his knees, and took a trembling breath. The wild terror, rage, and protective love in Kiryu's eyes had torn Yusei's heart in two. He wanted to stay right there beside him—they were only another challenge, right? Another fight to face, another duel to win.

But he knew that wasn't true.

They _had_ to split up.

They _had_ to get away.

They had to leave Kiryu behind.

And that was more painful than anything.

So Yusei started crying.

After all, he was alone. No little brother to scare.

So he let it all out.

* * *

**Okay, so I was trying to kill a cockroach in my sink, right? And those stupid things don't drown. I swear. I'm drop-dead terrified of cockroaches, and they don't drown. It's super unnerving to find one in your sink when you're brushing your teeth, crawling up the drain. So I'm trying to wash it down and it keeps crawling back up, and when it tried to crawl back up for about the fifth time, I slammed the stop down and it split clean in two with this awful cracking noise, and I almost puked right there.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THIS FANFIC! All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi and their rightful owners.**

* * *

Crow skidded to a halt in another dead end. He spun around and ran back the way he had came, blindly turning another corner and hoping he was going the right direction.

But after four more turns, five more twists, and two more puddles to fall into, Crow had to stop, double over, gasp for air, and face the fact.

He was lost.

Completely, hopelessly, one-hundred-ten-percent _lost._

**.x.**

In his panicked stupor, Jack hadn't been paying attention to where he was running. Now he skidded to a horrified halt as he realized he had made a huge loop. The glow of lights shone through the rain. He heard Kiryu's raised voice, and the bang of a gun.

Jack stumbled backwards and fell. He landed hard on his backside in a puddle. Holding his breath, he staggered upright, turned, and ran back the way he came. He knew this alley. All he had to do was breathe and think about how to get to their hideout.

So he leaned against a dumpster, cleared his head as much as he could, and thought for a good ten seconds. The path illuminated in his head.

Focusing on that, he ran again.

**.x.**

Yusei pressed himself against the back corner as he heard the echo of dripping water, the squish of sodden footfalls, and the ragged panting of someone out of breath.

"Yusei?" a heavily accented voice whispered into the darkness. "Crow?"

"Who discovered this place and when?" Yusei whispered back.

The footsteps stopped. "Crow and Jack found this place on their nightly patrol seven weeks and three days ago."

Yusei pulled himself from the shadows. A soaking, dripping, shivering Jack stood in the doorway, waiting for his eyes to adjust. A basement that had survived the collapse of the building on top of it was what they called their storm shelter. A working minifridge with rations for a week and a half for four people sat in the back. A table, under which sat a pile of pillows, blankets, towels, spare clothes, and two Duel Disks, rested beside the white box. A few candles and two boxes of matches lay on the table.

"Is Crow here?" Jack asked as he advanced, still trailing puddles, into the basement. Yusei picked up two towels and threw them at him. Jack began peeling off his wet clothes. Neither dared to light a candle.

"No. He should have been here by now. He took the shortest way." Yusei heard another rumble of thunder.

"You don't think they…" He trailed off. He didn't want to finish his thought.

Neither did Yusei.

So in the end, he simply said, "I don't know."

**.x.**

Kiryu leapt onto a dumpster, did a front flip over a fence, and landed on his toes like a cat on the other side. The pistol was abandoned two alleys back. He could see the collapsed apartment and put on a burst of speed.

He was almost there when a figure shot out from a neighboring alleyway and slammed into him. Falling, Kiryu twisted, recognizing the little boy in a flash of lightning, and grabbed onto him. He landed on his back. Crow fell on top of him, tangled in his arms.

Not recognizing Kiryu, he screamed at the top of his lungs and began thrashing.

**.x.**

Yusei sat up as a distant scream pierced his ears. Jack paused in the drying of his torso, red from cold.

"That sounds like Crow," Jack whispered, his words hardly audible.

Yusei began to stand.

"No! You heard Kiryu! We have to _stay put!_ What if there's still Sector running around?"

Slowly, Yusei sat back down. Jack had a point.

**.x.**

Screaming, Crow knew it was Sector Security. He lashed out and caught the assailant square in…something. He knew he hit him, and by the groan he got, it was sensitive.

"No—stop it—you stupid—delinquent!"

Squirming free, Crow staggered upright and ran, tears falling from his eyes and mixing with the rain. He could now see the apartment.

Without bothering to make his presence known, check for danger, do _anything_ sensible, he ran into the basement, fell down the stairs, and landed with a cry at the bottom.

He heard two shocked gasps, and rolled onto his back, flailing for something to grab onto. He struggled to his knees, crawled toward the nearest surface, collapsed, and began to cry.

* * *

**R&R please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Insert disclaimer, insert cockroach rants, insert random shiz.**

* * *

Yusei knew exactly where Crow was, and in a flash of lightning, rushed to him and held him close. He heard another set of footsteps, and they paused before the tune of a blackbird was whistled.

Jack repeated it.

Kiryu dashed in, looking around wildly. "Where's Crow?" he demanded. "He took off when I got hold of him."

"That was you?" Crow whispered through his tears. He turned his head. "I th-thought you were Sector."

Then Yusei smelled it. Coppery like old pennies.

Blood.

He stood up quickly. "Kiryu—you're—"

Crow caught whiff of it too. He staggered to his feet and flew at Kiryu with enough force he staggered.

"You're hurt," he stammered, his hands feeling for a wound. "Y-You're bleeding, you're h-hurt, y-y—"

Kiryu caught his wrists and pulled him in against his chest, hugging him so tightly Crow squeaked. "It's not mine, it's not mine," he reassured the littlest boy. "It's someone else's. I'm not hurt. Are you? Crow-bird, are you hurt? Crow-bird, answer me. Are you hurt?"

He shook his head, burying his face in Kiryu's chest. He began crying harder, holding onto the blue-haired leader. Kiryu clutched him close. Yusei saw the blood decorating his arms and hands. He had a smear of it running down his face, mixed with water.

If it wasn't Kiryu's blood, he wasn't hurt. If he wasn't hurt, it was someone else's blood. If it was someone else's blood, someone _else_ was hurt. If someone else was hurt and their blood was on Kiryu, that meant Kiryu had hurt someone.

Yusei almost threw up at the very thought.

**.x.**

"I was so scared," Crow spluttered through his tears and sniffles. "I th-thought they would get you be-because of me and—and my marker—" He broke off, crying harder than ever.

Kiryu rocked him slowly. "Shh, Crow-bird, calm down, it's okay. I'm okay. We're all okay and everything's fine. Hush, bird."

The rain was slowly beginning to die off. Crow could still hear it pattering on the pavement outside, but it was less pronounced. When the next roll of thunder echoed, Yusei could easily talk over it.

"Who was hurt, Kiryu?" he asked quietly.

"No one!" Crow cried, his hands fisting tighter around Kiryu's shirt. "No one was hurt! You heard Kiryu—everything's fine!"

Kiryu was silent.

After a long, silent moment, Kiryu pulled back and picked Crow up into his arms, only to set him down against the wall. The blood and rain mixed on both of their outfits, as well as Crow's tears.

"Can I have a couple blankets?" Kiryu asked softly.

Shirtless and shoeless Jack picked up a few heavier blankets, while Yusei gathered up all the pillows. Too exhausted, numb, and shaking to care about where they slept, the three who weren't crying built a 'nest' around Crow and settled down to sleep.

Kiryu took off his bloodstained shirt, jeans, boots, and socks, pulling his headband off of his wet blue locks. His bangs, unrestricted, fell in front of his face.

Yusei straightened the blanket they were laying on and pulled the blankets on top of them closer, tucking them around his body to prevent drafts.

Jack put one hand on Crow's arm, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the skin that was damp and red from the cold. He uncurled his arm from around his pillow and gently removed Crow's wet headband for him.

Crow burrowed into the nest, feeling Jack's warm chest on his back and his strong heartbeat on his shoulder blade. Kiryu lay down in front of him, with Yusei on his other side. Crow wrapped his arms around the leader's chest and rested his forehead against his angular collarbone.

"Go to sleep," Kiryu said, closing his eyes. Crow didn't know if he was speaking directly to him, or to them all in general. "Things will be brighter in the morning."

No one responded. Crow closed his gray eyes slowly, feeling Jack pull the blankets closer. Kiryu held him tighter. Yusei ruffled his hair affectionately, gently.

Managing to forget the blood, pain, and terror, he fell asleep.

* * *

**R&R is highly appreciated~!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Final chapter! 3**

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

Crow woke up with Jack on one side, Yusei on the other, and Kiryu gone.

He sat up groggily, looking around. His shirt was black and red, stiff with dried blood. His hands were caked in it. His nails had black crescents under them—blood.

Something vile rose in his throat. Staggering to his feet, he dashed up the stairs and outside, vomiting into the nearest trash bin.

When he straightened, he found a puddle and washed his hands and cheeks clean, clawing viscously at the blood. His nails left scratches on his palms and face, but he didn't care. He tore off his shirt, threw himself down, and started to cry softly.

He remembered the pain and the terror of the night before. He remembered Kiryu holding him close and kissing him until he fell asleep again, roused by nightmares. He remembered the bang of a gun, the loud screaming that he thought came from him. He remembered wrestling with someone he thought was Sector Security.

He remembered Kiryu, soaked in blood that wasn't his.

**.x.**

Stumbling back inside, sniffling, Crow looked around. Jack and Yusei were laying closer, holding each other tight, still sound asleep. Kiryu was still gone.

He saw a slip of paper lying on the table on the other side of the room. Walking slowly closer, he saw his name written across the back.

Kiryu had taught him how to read, but longer words took him a bit more time to figure out sometimes. Flipping open the note, he began reading to himself.

_ 3_

_Crow_

_I know you probably won't forgive me for running off without a proper good-bye, but I couldn't stay and put you in danger. I want you to make me a promise. Don't ever forget me. Don't remember me like last night, though. Whatever happens, whatever you see or hear or feel, I want you to remember me like the boy who holds you at night. Like the leader of our gang. Like someone worth looking up to. Like someone worth remembering._

_Promise me this, Crow. I love you, Crow-bird. I love you so much._

_ -Kiryu_

_ 3_

Crow dropped the note. He wasn't coming back. He sank to his knees and started crying again.

**.x.**

Since that day, Kiryu had always kept a special place in Crow's heart. He had never been forgotten, but never brought up in casual conversation either. Crow still woke up with nightmares and would look for a Kiryu that wasn't there.

But he could cope.

He had for four years already, hadn't he?

* * *

**Final chapter! Yes, yes, yes, loose ends, unfinished thoughts, I ****_may _****do a sequel.**

**What am I saying? I'm going to have to do a sequel with THIS ending.**


End file.
